ER refused to treat me

[junkcrap50]

Thanks 5150. I don't care about the stress - a friend I went to UNI with is the top criminal lawyer in Las Vegas and where I live - but I doubt he would do a "hospital" case since it is not his area. Another good friend I grew up with is just a medical malpractice attorney - but he does huge cases, like death by hospital - there is no one I know who would put in the hours to do a nuisance case.
Also I would then be blackballed from all the ERs in my state - so there is that.
Tomorrow I am going to get in touch with the head dr who diagnosed me with Asthma Oct 1 2017 at same ER, and tell him what happened - how they all DENIED that I had asthma even tho their lead dr in the ER did in fact diagnose me with that, and did the whole face mask thing - plus shots of steroids - sent me home with lots of meds. I was pretty sick. I also called my retired GYN in Florida - who used to be on the Board of Directors of this hospital to ask him what I can do - he wasn't home though.

No this was planned malpractice directed by the CRNP - no nurse I have talked to thus far has ever heard of someone not letting me go to my ER bed - and pulling me off to a private room, and going under questioning, repeatedly saying
You don't have asthma - I want them to fire her - she is going to kill someone one day. And what is her role there?

Thanks Starlily88
PS was going to a pulmonologist at this hospital but cancelling it - due to what happened.
I am now forever branded.

I would still at least consult a lawyer. Your friend who you grew up with and is a medical malpractic attorney may be able to refer you to a smaller-time lawyer who can help you. The lawyer could still be useful without going to the extreme of filling a lawsuit. He can threaten a lawsuit - that'll probably make them crap their pants. Send a letter to the hospital, medical review boards, and state boards/licensings/etc. Where you can make sure that your voice is heard by the hostpical/ER and make sure that CRNP is punished appropirately. The lawyer will help you navigate that stuff and who to appeal to.

 

[starlily88]

You don't have a DNR order on your medical file, do you?

Saw this recently https://spectator.org/do-you-have-a-dnr-the-wrong-answer-could-kill-you/
It says the level of care goes down dramatically when we have that on our chart.

No I don't have a DNR order. I feel so much sicker - took my temperature. I have 100.8 temperature, and feel horrible. I can't have temp from asthma - this is now 1 1/2 months I have had temperature. I refuse to go to another emergency room - my internist gave up on Medicare April 1st, so no internist.
Just called my Endocrinologist - to see who is on call.

So sick of this starlily88 thanks for all your support, I know all of us are so much sicker than I am, so please forgive my belly aching

 

[starlily88]

No I don't have a DNR order. I feel so much sicker - took my temperature. I have 100.8 temperature, and feel horrible. I can't have temp from asthma - this is now 1 1/2 months I have had temperature. I refuse to go to another emergency room - my internist gave up on Medicare April 1st, so no internist.
Just called my Endocrinologist - to see who is on call.

So sick of this starlily88 thanks for all your support, I know all of us are so much sicker than I am, so please forgive my belly aching

PS my Endo just called me - he said I HAVE to go to either Hopkins ER or St Joe's ER now - he said it is much more than my thyroid or asthma - my body is freezing up with A/C on past 83 degrees - He said I have to be checked out now. I asked him why as smart as he is - how come he doesn't know?
He said - he couldn't figure it out.
Starlily88 I am so very sad to return to another ER now. I am crying

 

[Judee]

So sick of this starlily88 thanks for all your support, I know all of us are so much sicker than I am, so please forgive my belly aching

Aww...no that's okay. Don't feel badly. We all have to have an emotional shoulder to cry on sometimes. Definitely sounds like something else is going on. Will pray you get some answers soon. Glad he got back to you quickly at least. Keep us up to date when you are able to.

Starlily88 I am so very sad to return to another ER now. I am crying

We'll pray you get compassionate nurses and doctors tonight.

Want to ask more questions but know you have to go. Go safely.

Judee

 

[Countrygirl]

So sorry to hear you have been treated in this disgraceful way @starlily88. Sadly many of us have stories of similar abuse. At least do make a record of it and ensure it is sent to someone who is keeping a record of this unprofessional conduct.

Is it in any way a result of prejudice to a prior ME or CFS diagnosis?

Thinking of you and looking forward to your return, with, hopefully, better news.

 

[starlily88]

Aww...no that's okay. Don't feel badly. We all have to have an emotional shoulder to cry on sometimes. Definitely sounds like something else is going on. Will pray you get some answers soon. Glad he got back to you quickly at least. Keep us up to date when you are able to.



We'll pray you get compassionate nurses and doctors tonight.

Want to ask more questions but know you have to go. Go safely.

Judee

Well Judee I am back from the ER. It was SOOOO very stupid to go - I told my Endo I had gone to ER on Tuesday, and definition of insanity is to repeat same thing, thinking one will get different result
I was right - it is 90 degrees outside - got to the new ER, ER is totally empty, good sign.

Then after waiting 15 minutes asked TRIAGE nurse That I was having trouble breathing.
Wow - she went off on me yelling "well you can talk so you have no trouble breathing" at which point I can't tell you what I told her - got her name and left. My asthma is not the severe kind my childhood friend had - he could never breathe - mine occurs in spurts thru out the day - then I can't talk.

There was a 3 hour wait and my temperature was so high I had to come home to take tylenol.
I love that all these blond hair young women - who are not drs - are defining my breathing for me
I asked her if I was having a heart attack - would she just wait for me to die in the ER since she surely was a dr??
She got so pissed

Never ever going to an ER for the rest of my life - dumb dumb idea And for my Endo to send me there, and very clearly not have a clue about anything, even though he examined me - well that gave me pause
But now that I am much worse - he is NOW convinced it is not my thyroid/asthma but something worse, which I kept telling him on my visit - he would not listen to me.
Starlily88

 

[starlily88]

So sorry to hear you have been treated in this disgraceful way @starlily88. Sadly many of us have stories of similar abuse. At least do make a record of it and ensure it is sent to someone who is keeping a record of this unprofessional conduct.

Is it in any way a result of prejudice to a prior ME or CFS diagnosis?

Thinking of you and looking forward to your return, with, hopefully, better news.

I never told the ERs that I have CFS/ME - I have enough diseases to not want to be maligned by this. I think in the first ER it was my age, my religion - who knows - she was blond, quite young, and the meanest nurse ever. The young nurses that tended to me were so very sweet - talked about wigs, hair, etc just to make me smile.
Thanks Starlily88

 

[valentinelynx]

At the very least, please report that ER nurse practitioner who abused you to your state medical board. The job of the medical board is to make sure that dangerous practitioners are removed from practice. This one sounds truly dangerous!

 

[starlily88]

At the very least, please report that ER nurse practitioner who abused you to your state medical board. The job of the medical board is to make sure that dangerous practitioners are removed from practice. This one sounds truly dangerous!

Thanks Valentinlynx (nice cat). I forgot about the medical board. My surrogate Dad was furious when a non-MD Naturopath preying on CFS patients - made me get naked, and did some weird machine (when I first got sick). I thought only Dr types could be reported. Thank you very much. Starlily88

 

[starlily88]

To everyone out there - when my Endocrinologist (who is the very smartest dr I have) - tells me that he has no idea what I have - and wants me to go to the ER. Then I ask him - why - you are so smart, you figure it out- and he tells me he can't - it is more than my thyroid and asthma = that makes me very upset - that he thinks an ER can figure out a 6 week infection that 4 top notch drs can't figure out.
Is every dr insane?
Now I can't meet my girlfriend for my birthday celebration next week - and she doesn't even know I am sick.

I am not going to go to 100 more drs. Obviously my ENDO doesn't give a crap about my heath, which after 25 years is so disheartning to me - why didn't he just order a bunch of tests, why didn't he refer me to a Hopkin's dr?
Why the ER - that is the dumbest thing to do.
I only go to the ER when I have dehydration or 10 week UTI - then I need IV gentamicin.
I do NOT go to the ER for a disease that 4 top drs have no clue about.

The ER is not the Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins - so why be so disrespectful to me?
I told him on the phone that this was no resolution - why didn't he just fit me in next week?

I realize he is just like any dr - my cousins who are researchers at Harvard and Yale and Columbia Presbyterian hate most of anything my drs tell me to do - or diagnose me with - or drugs they give me - that is when I find out just how dumb most drs are - compared to super bright drs.
So now I will just be sick the whole summer - and have to stay in bed - I think I just want to curl up and expire at this point - I am giving up officially
starlily88

 

[starlily88]

I have an appointment with one of the top Johns Hopkins Endocrinologist's July 5th _ forgot I had it.
I called Hopkins this AM to get appt with the Endocrinologist, Director of Thyroid Clinic - he can't see me till August.
His secretary is looking for someone to cancel - since I only live 15 minutes away - I will be top of her list.
I called my ENT dr, left a message who to see at Hopkins. Called my Hopkins Neurologist to ask her what I should do, so until July, I guess I am just going to be sick. Thanks you guys for having my back. I am a bit sad now - because I love the summer, and now I am going to be too sick to do my walks, etc. But this is life for all of us,
thanks again for all your support. Starlily88

 

[Judee]

Oh, no. I'm sorry you had another bad experience with the ER.

Our medical system is getting so bad. I know what you are saying about doctors not having a clue.

I know you probably have no energy for this but can you look for a new internist that might be able to see you sooner?

My doctor of 19+ years retired in December and after having to quit my job last year, I'm on state medical insurance so it was really difficult trying to find a new doctor that was close by and would take my insurance and didn't have a long waiting list and was not totally unsympathetic to ME/CFS.

Do you still have the fever? Do you still have enough inhaler to use if you need to?

Answer when you are able to and not before since it sounds like you had another rough night.

Sending you more hugs.

 

[starlily88]

Oh, no. I'm sorry you had another bad experience with the ER.

Our medical system is getting so bad. I know what you are saying about doctors not having a clue.

I know you probably have no energy for this but can you look for a new internist that might be able to see you sooner?

My doctor of 19+ years retired in December and after having to quit my job last year, I'm on state medical insurance so it was really difficult trying to find a new doctor that was close by and would take my insurance and didn't have a long waiting list and was not totally unsympathetic to ME/CFS.

Do you still have the fever? Do you still have enough inhaler to use if you need to?

Answer when you are able to and not before since it sounds like you had another rough night.

Sending you more hugs.

Thanks Judee for your support, as you can see I did get quite upset - I was so surprised I had 100.9 Fever, and felt so horrible - somehow I just assumed taking the steroid would get me better, but it didn't.

Then I enter "gloom" phase - because none of us have any control - but when we get another disease component on top of what we have - and this one seemed straightforward to me I didn't expect to have call drs on Friday to beg them for help.
MY ENT just scolded me - never going back to him - he is quite disrespectful to women. He kept repeating ad nauseum that 99.9 is NOT a fever, altho I told him I had 101 fever. He told me he knew no one at Hopkins, yet when I told him I was on wait list for top Hopkins Thyroid dr - "Oh yes, Cooper is the best, I know him well"

I did have appt with new Internist that my girlfriend goes to. I had to cancel it. One of my High school friends passed away - and I had to attend the funeral, etc the next 2 days.

Yes I am still running a fever, I am still on rescue inhaler. I started taking anti-biotics out of desperation.
I am so tired - I went upstairs to lay down around 7 PM - and I woke up today Saturday at 11 AM. This is wiping me out. I am unhappy - I guess because this has been 45 days straight of fever, coughing, wheezing, swelling of my thyroid (?). And it probably is part of my thoracic spine disease - all my nerves affecting my chest ribs may have caused neuropathy around lower throat - so there is nothing to be done.

I am going to try to partake of summer, and try to forget about this, I assume this is nothing that can be cured. So I will do inhaler, anti biotics, gargle with salt water - and just go forward. Rome wasn't built in a day
thanks starlily88

 

[Judee]

Oh, wow. I'm so sorry your going through all this.

I understand about the "gloom" phase. It can come on easily when trying to deal with the many facets of this disease AND then on top of that to have to deal with an overwhelmingly unfriendly medical response.

I think most of the time it really is because they do not know the answer BUT do they have to be so arrogant and demeaning about it?

Actually let me take that a degree further and say, they don't know that they don't know but that just makes it worse because they think they DO.

 

[Judee]

Do you think this fever might be because of autoimmune or allergic response or do you suspect that you are fighting an infection (viral or bacterial) currently?

Because garlic and/or thymus fight infections very well but magnify the response if it is autoimmune/allergic. I use Swanson thymus and ascorbic acid (vit c) mixed together and then kinda gargle them with a swallow of water so it coats my salivary glands and throat.

Doing this works very quickly but again only when fighting infection. If my fever/swollen throat is because I'm having an allergic response, it makes the situation worse.

 

[E.man]

Sadly you are not alone.

Almost passed out at my GP. She sent me straight to hospital who basically left me to suffer.

After I made a written statement I received a phone call apology.

Would prefer proper attention in the first place.

 

[starlily88]

Oh, wow. I'm so sorry your going through all this.

I understand about the "gloom" phase. It can come on easily when trying to deal with the many facets of this disease AND then on top of that to have to deal with an overwhelmingly unfriendly medical response.

I think most of the time it really is because they do not know the answer BUT do they have to be so arrogant and demeaning about it?

Actually let me take that a degree further and say, they don't know that they don't know but that just makes it worse because they think they DO.

Judee it does make it worse when ENT talks to me like I am an idiot. But my Endo did admit he did not have a clue, he has no arrogance. I talked to the assistant in Endocrine Dept. She has me on "wait List" for her dr Cooper, head of thyroid clinic. She said - he can figure out the fever, the asthma, the whole enchillada Since I only live at most 15 minutes away - I got to be on top of list for out of town last minute cancellations. People come from all over the world and states to see them apparently. I asked her why? She said they don't get help from their Endos

I think this is Viral- but isn't everything we get part of an auto immune response? I haven't added any new med, new food, nothing new. Good idea about thymus and ascorbic acid C. I will try it. My ears are killing me too, but assume that is refractive pain from my throat. Oh well - I feel better just doing my inhaler. It is hard for me to breathe, walk up steps - just in store - couldn't stand in line, so weak.

Thanks you all Watch Kentucky Derby today, then my fave Preakness in 2 weeks
starlily88

 

[starlily88]

Sorry - the above forgot to mention I am slated to see Endocrine dr at Hopkins July 5th, and perhaps earlier with Dr Cooper head of Hopkins Thyroid Clinic. It is only at Hopkins that I get an answer - but we all avoid going there
starlily88

 

[Gingergrrl]

Sorry - the above forgot to mention I am slated to see Endocrine dr at Hopkins July 5th, and perhaps earlier with Dr Cooper head of Hopkins Thyroid Clinic. It is only at Hopkins that I get an answer - but we all avoid going there

I am just catching up on this thread and am so sorry for everything you have been through @starlily88! I have also had experiences where the doctor told me that I must go to the ER and then you get to the ER and they treat you like human garbage as if you just showed up for fun to waste their time. I totally understand avoiding the ER at all cost.

This thread has been educational for me b/c Hopkins has such an amazing reputation. I'm on the west coast and have no direct experience of them but I had a nightmare experience at Stanford a few yrs ago (which also has an amazing reputation) and you just never know how you will be treated anywhere. The hospital where I see my MCAS doctor and do my infusions is the most random hospital but is phenomenal so you just never know.

I am glad you will see the Endo and hoping you get some answers. Am also glad you will consult with your attorney friend re: how to proceed.

 

[starlily88]

I am just catching up on this thread and am so sorry for everything you have been through @starlily88! I have also had experiences where the doctor told me that I must go to the ER and then you get to the ER and they treat you like human garbage as if you just showed up for fun to waste their time. I totally understand avoiding the ER at all cost.

This thread has been educational for me b/c Hopkins has such an amazing reputation. I'm on the west coast and have no direct experience of them but I had a nightmare experience at Stanford a few yrs ago (which also has an amazing reputation) and you just never know how you will be treated anywhere. The hospital where I see my MCAS doctor and do my infusions is the most random hospital but is phenomenal so you just never know.

I am glad you will see the Endo and hoping you get some answers. Am also glad you will consult with your attorney friend re: how to proceed.

thanks Gingergrrl, I love your dog This is education for me too. I have avoided Hopkins - like most of us here.
It is sort of being a New Yorker (like me) and not even going to the Empire State Bldg - yes it is there but you see it everyday, all around..............
.
I won't go to Hopkins unless I check out the CV,, how many stars they have, and talk personally to their assistant. They have to be a beloved dr for me to go. See, you can take the dr out of Hopkins, but you can't take the Hopkins out of the dr - there is enough arrogance among drs. - we don't need it in our condition.
Starlily88